Soil, smoke, dust, shadow, nothingness
by Aiedail Choupette
Summary: Or the five times Tony Stark met Loki. Slash. FrostIron. Complete.
1. Soil

So, here we go. I've translated my fanfiction about Tony/Loki into English. It's a strange fic (and already entirely written, so don't worry). Actually, there will be five chapters, but they can be considered as drabbles having a link together. The title is from a poem of Luis de Gongora y Argote. There will be a chapter for every word of the title. So, this first chapter is called « soil ».

**Disclaimer :** _I own nothing._

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><p><span>Soil :<span>

The first time Tony met Loki, it happened on the battlefield. Iron Man's armor was heavy on his sore limbs, and, honestly, Tony couldn't have said when, exactly, things had got out of control.

He was lying on the floor, disjointed puppet, while the sound of the battlefield was growing more and more distant, going to another place of the city. He had just asked Jarvis, while it was still possible to keep in touch with the robot, to get him his sight back. Tony couldn't see anything without taking off his mask, and he was not at ease with the idea.

A few seconds later, Tony felt his mask move by itself, and, too hurt to try anything, he did nothing.

Loki was here.

Crouching in front of him, like it was the most natural thing to do. And he was _smiling. _Tony felt blood at the back of his throat, and he swallowed with difficulty.

Loki was here. Doing nothing.

And then, one scream. Two. Tumult and muffled explosion. Nothing else. No pain.

When the dust had got back on the floor, Loki wasn't here anymore, and the Iron Man's mask had also disappeared. Later, when Tony would remember this, the only evidences of the presence of Loki this day would be this incomplete armor, this smile, printed in his memory, this eyes able to freeze you. And the taste of soil, melted with the taste of blood. The bitter taste on misunderstanding.


	2. Smoke

**Disclaimer :** _I own nothing._

**Author's note : **_thank you all for the reviews, the alerts ... You guys are amazing. Thanks to **Garonne**, my amazing beta reader.  
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><p><span>Smoke :<span>

Every single day, Tony saw this man who wasn't a man, but wasn't a God anymore, who didn't belong to this world nor the one he came from, who hadn't a father anymore, a mother anymore, a brother anymore, faltering, disappearing into the shadow of his cell.

And Tony, as a man of the world, as an actor always playing his role, couldn't understand.

They had caught him, eventually. They had put him in that room, before a table, in front of the mirror they were all hiding behind to observe him. The interviews hadn't been very useful, so they were now trying to get on his nerves, to crumble the wall of patience he had created. But Loki was just sitting there, under the harsh and harmful light above his head. And at night, when at nine in the evening they turned off the light, he never moved, but the darkness suited him so well he seemed to melt into it and disappear for the night.

He had been here for eleven days. Never eating, never drinking.

Tony had been here for eleven nights, behind the glass, watching, listening. Not a gesture, not a sound.

Like Loki was dead.

This evening wasn't different from the others. Tony was watching. Tony was desperate. He noticed with tired eyes that the videos of the cameras on the floor above him were blurred by what seemed to be heavy, dark smoke.

The floor above him made a worrying noise.

A few seconds later, Tony saw something big fall where Loki was supposed to be. Tony himself could only grab the luggage which contained the Iron Man suit and activate it before he was drowned in hell.

When he was finally able to get out of the room, the walls were crumbling all around him. He raced to the upper floor to save those who could be saved. But while he was trying to see through the smoke, his mind was screaming only one name to him. He ignored it.


	3. Dust

**Thank you !**

****I don't think I've ever got so much alerts and favorites for a story. You guys are great ! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

**Disclaimer : **_I own nothing :)_

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><p><strong>Dust :<strong>

Broken bodies, the smell of wounded, burnt flesh. SHIELD agents walked among the corpses, looking at the dead faces, trying to find their most valuable prisoner.

This time, Tony found Loki, immobilized on the floor.

He was crushed by a beam which prevented him from moving his legs. His forehead was gashed, and the blood from the wound was mingling with his hair. The room around him looked like the chaos at the end of the world.

Tony slowly made his way to him. Loki was coughing softly, suffocated by the pieces falling from the ceiling, which now covered part of his face. Tony crouched next to him, and wiped his face carefully.

They looked at each other. They never let go.

And Tony lifted the beam.

Loki didn't move. His eternal composure didn't seem shaken by the situation. Always the same facial expression. Except for the eyes.

Loki was staring at Tony with a troubling intensity.

Tony didn't call out to say he had found Loki.

Later – but when ? - Thor came into the room with two SHIELD agents and Nick Fury. Loki was brought elsewhere. Tony didn't pay attention to the silent lamentations of Thor and Fury's burning and suspicious glance on his back. He only saw the dust which had risen when they took Loki, and which now fell on the floor, as if nothing had happened.


	4. Shadow

**Disclaimer :** _Nothing's mine, once again._

**Author's note**** :**_I've never had so many fav' and alerts for a story. I'm really happy, and I' d like to say thank you to every single of you for that. This is one of the stories I'm the most proud of. So, here's the news : the next chapter, nothingness, is supposed to be the last one, but I have two ideas to end this story. Since you all are that nice to me, I've decided to publish the two different endings. So, there are actually two chapters left after this one._

**Special thanks to****:** _my beta reader, Garonne, amazing as always. You may want to take a look at what she writes. _

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><p><strong>Shadow:<strong>

It was pure nonsense and uncontrollable. Frightening.

Tony's bedroom, one of the few rooms which had escaped the fire, was in the dark. At least this way, Tony wouldn't have to confront himself in the mirror.

He shouldn't think about Loki this way.

Darkness changed and a shadow appeared in front of him. Two fingers caressed his jaw. The door's jangling bolt.

Suddenly, Tony wanted to turn on the light, to confirm Loki's existence, right before him. But the two fingers were now on his lips, so he didn't move.

In the darkness, Tony could deny what was growing up inside of him.

In the darkness, Loki remained a shadow among the shadows.


	5. Nothingness, first version

**Disclaimer :** _Nothing's mine, once again._

**Author's note**** :**_ Thank you very much everybody. There's only one chapter left after this one. _

**Special thanks to****:** _my beta reader, Garonne, amazing as always. You may want to take a look at what she writes. _

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><p><strong>Nothingness (first version) :<strong>

From the bedroom window, Loki could see the meaningless life of humans filing past before his eyes – and he didn't see the hospital's white walls.

The barely audible sound of a sheet moving drew his attention and Loki turned towards the center of the illuminated room. His eyes immediately found Tony's. He was awake, at last. Loki let the feeling of relief which was spreading through him invade him entirely. He savoured the sweetness of being reunited with the loved one we thought we had lost forever.

Tony's eyes were shining with tiredness, but Loki felt a bitter taste of bile rise in his throat because he could see something else behind them. He could recognize that look, for it was the same Tony had had during their first encounter. Then Loki understood even before Tony spoke, but when he did speak, Loki felt like dying.

"Who are you ?"

In Tony's eyes, he saw the frightening emptiness which is known by the one who does not know who he is anymore. He saw the nothingness.


	6. Nothingness, second version

**Disclaimer :** _Nothing's mine, once again._

**Author's note**** :**_ Thank you very much everybody. This is the last chapter. We may meet again on another of my stories en English.  
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**Special thanks to****:** _my beta reader, Garonne, amazing as always. You may want to take a look at what she writes. _

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><p><strong>Nothingness (second and last version) :<strong>

When Tony woke up, the sound of the explosion was still ringing in his ears, and his eyes were still blinded by the fire.

Loki was in a corner of the room, and the sun was shining around him, as if he were an angel. He was smiling. Tony smiled too, and felt happy. Then he fell asleep.

When he woke up, Loki was still there. He had gotten closer to the bed, and his hand slowly caressed Tony's hair. They talked a bit and Tony fell asleep.

Then he dreamt of an explosion, of a scream, of blood. He woke up with a start and Loki hugged him tightly, whispering that everything was alright, that he was alive, that he was here.

Tony fell asleep in Loki's arms.

When he woke up, Steve was by his side, and was whispering that he had to wake up, that he couldn't live this way anymore, that he had to accept Loki's death now.

Tony didn't understand.

**Fin.**


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